Feed-hopper for grain-cleaning machines



R. L. OWENS;

FEED HOPPER FOR GRAIN CLEANING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED FEB.21,1919.

1,400,234, Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

35/ V4 WM RICHARD L. OWENS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

FEED-HOPPER FOR GRAIN-CLEANING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

Original application filed February 24, 1917, Serial No. 208,577.Divided and this application filed Febriiary 21, 1919.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I Bromine L. OwnNs, acitizen of the United States, resident of Minneapolis, county ofHennepin, State of Minnesota, have invented certaiirnew and usefulImprovements in Feed-Hoppers for Grain- Cleaning Machinery, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a feeding apparatus to beinstalled in the hopper of a grain cleaning machine which willpositively prevent the grain from clogging and interrupting theoperation of the machine.

A further and particular object is to provide means for regulating thecross sectional area of the feed throat or passage for the purpose ofobtainingthe desired degree of suction therein, this area-regulatingmeans operating in cooperation with the device for regulating the feedof the stream of grain.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detaileddescription. 7

This application is a division of application Serial No. 208,577, filedFebruary 24, 1.917.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, a

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a grain cleaning machineembodying my invention, I 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, on the line 2-2 of Fig. l. V

In the drawing, Zrepresents the frame of the machine and Sthe hopperinto which the grain to be cleaned is discharged by suitable means, notshown. The walls of the hopper are inclined in the usual way and at thebottomis a side opening discharge throat 4 formed between the lower edgeof the hopper wall and an inclined feed plate 5 on which the grain restsin its passage through the throat. At the lower edge of the feed plateis a force feed roll 6 having a toothed periphery upon which the grainis deliveredfrom the feed plate. The pressure. however. or weight of thegrain is sustained by the plate so that as the grain passes oil" thelower end 01": the plate it will be engaged by the. feed roll andadvancedthrough the throat or" the hopper without there being anymaterial pressure of the grain on the roll which mighttend to wedge orclog the feed. Thehopper has an inclined wall 7 above the plate 4, thelower edge of which bounds the upper por- Serial No. 278,446.

tion of the throat, and upon this wall a series of gates 8 are hinged. Ihave: shown three of these gates, but a greater number may be employedifpreterred. The lower edges of the gates rest by gravity upon the grainas it'flows through the throat of the hopper, and each gate ispreferably provided with a weight 9 which resists the upward movement ofthe gate but will allow it to yield and permit the passage through thethroat of such foreign material as nails, bolts, straw, or pieces ofwood which might accidentally pass into the hopper with the grain, andthe lifting of the gates will prevent such foreign material from lodgingand interrupting the overfiow of the grain out of the hopper.

Each gate has a pin and slot connection at 10 with a bar 11 that ispivoted at 12 to. a lever 13 pivoted a 14 and projecting out side thewall of the hopper, where it can be conreniently grasped by the operatorfor the purpose of shifting the bar 11 with respect to the pin slidingtherein and thereby regulate the stroke of the gate.

Each lever 13 is locked by suitable means, such as the link and wing nutdevice 15. By loosening the wing nut, the levers may be adjustedindependently of each other so that the throw or travel of the gates maybe varied and as the hopper is of less width than the sieves, I preferto adjust the lever of the middle gate so that it will have less strokethan the side gates. This will have the eii ect'ot directing the streamof grain from the center toward the side walls of the hopper and theside gates, opening wider than the middle one, will allow the grain tospread outwardly to the sides of the sieves beneath.

I also prefer to provide a gate 16 mounted to slide in the wall '7connected with a crank 17 which is operated by means of a rod 18.

The gate 16 is free to slide with the movement of thecrank toward orfrom the plate 5-and thereby regulate the cross-sectional area of thethroat and wheneyer desired the feed may be stopped entirely by closingthis valve and then all the grain which may have passed out of thehopper but is still somewhere on the sieves maybe worked outof themachine until the sieves are entirely clear.

Near the hopper is a fan casing 19 for suction fan 20. An air trunk 21leads from this fan casing to a chamber 22 in the rear of the wall 17and above the swinging gates. The lower portion of the chamber 22communicates with a throat 23 through which the grain falls upon a sieve2% beneath. This throat 23 has the feed roll on one side and an inclinedplate 25 on the other side over which the grain falls upon the screen 24beneath. In the passage of the grain positioned to swing toward or fromthe feed rollv and thereby increase or decrease the cross sectional areaof the passage and the lifting force of the air currents passingtherethrough, and thereby the separation of the dust and chaff from thegrain may be regulated according to the condition of the grain, the sizeof the kernels, and the foreign matter therein, the shaft 27 thatcarriesthe regulating valve 27" preferably extends through the wall ofthe casing as shown at the right in Fig. 2, and is provided with a crankat 27' to which may be connected an operating rod 27 that extends to aconvenient position within control of the operator. I also prefer toprovide a slide 28 in the top of the fan casing by means of which theair currents may be in a sense short-circuited or admitted directly tothe fan, instead of being drawn through the grain passage. In theoperation of the machine, the grain is fed into the hopper and allowedto'rest upon the feed plate in the bottom thereof and slide over uponthe feed roll, the revoluder pressure of any foreign material and allowit to pass through and drop upon the sieve beneath for discharge fromthe machine instead of sticking or wedging in the hopper and cloggingthe feed: By means of the a1r valve, the throat may be increased ordecreased 11f cross-sect1onal area until the desired degree of suctionis obtained for the proper separation of the chaff and fine materialfrom the grain.

I do not wish to be confined to theparticular arrangement or the mannerof mounting the various devices in the hopper and air passage, as invarious ways these details may be modified and still be within the scopeof my invention.

I claim as myinvention:

-1. The combination, with a feed hopper having an inclined feed platearranged below the bottom'of the hopper and forming with the hopper walla side openingv discharge throat, of a force-feedroll located below theedge of said feed plate, an adjustable gate arranged above said roll inposition to bear on the grain as it passes over said feed plate,

a chamber through which the grain passes as it falls from said feedroll, an air regulating valve arranged in said chamber, and a fan andfan-trunk connected to said chamber above said feed roll and regulatingvalve, for drawing a current of air through saidchamher and through thegrain as it falls from said feed roll.

j 2. The combination, with a feed hopper having an inclined feed platearranged below the bottom of the hopper and forming with the hopper walla side opening discharge throat, of a force-feed roll located below theedge of said feed plate", a series of independently adjustable gatesarranged abovesaid roll in position to bear on the grain as it passesover saidfeed plate, a chamber through which the grain passes as itfalls from said feed roll, and a fanand fan-trunk connected to saidchamber above said feed roll, 'for drawing a current of air through saidchamber and through the grain as it falls from said feed roll.

.3. The. combination, with a feed hopper having an inclined feed platearranged below the bottom of the hopper and forming with the hopper walla side opening discharge throat, of a force-feed roll located below theedge of said feed plate, a series of independently adjustable gatesarranged above said roll in position to bear on the grain as it passesover said feed plate, meansfor independently adjustingsaid gates andregulating theirpressure upon the grain, a chamber through which thegrain passes as it falls from said feedroll, and a fan and fan-trunkconnected to said chamber above said feed roll for drawing a current ofair through said chamber and through the grain as it falls from saidfeed roll.

4:. The combination, with a feed hopper having an inclined feed platearranged below I the bottom of the hopper and forming with the hopperwall a side opening discharge throat, of a force-feed roll located belowthe edge ofsaid feed plate, an adjustable gate arranged above said rollin position to bear on the grain as it passes over said feed plate, achamber through which the grain'passes as it falls from said feed roll,a fan and fantrunk connected to said chamber above said feed roll, and asettling chamber arranged in said fan-trunk.

5.-The combination, with a feed hopper having an inclined feedplatearranged below falls from said feed roll, and a fan and fan thebottom of the hopper, and forming with trunk connected to said chamberabove said 10 the hopper wall a side opening dischar e feed roll fordrawing a current of air throat, of a force feed roll located below thethrough said chamber, and through the grain edge of said feed plate, anadjustable gate as it falls from said feed roll.

arranged above said roll in position to bear In witness whereof, I havehereunto set my on the grain as it passes over said feed plate, handthis 13th da of F ebruar 1919.

a chamber through which grain passes as it ltICI-IARD OWENS.

LAA M 1

